Electric switch



Feb. 6, 1923. 1,444,0m

H. J. MOREY.

ELECTRIC Sw| TCH. F1 LED OcT. 4, 1918.

Patented Feb. 6, i923.

cause HARRY J. MOREY, 01E SYRACUSEfNEW YORK.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Application filed October 4, 1918. Serial No. 256,831.

To all 1072077152 may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY J. MonnY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented," certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches, oi which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electric switches,

and particularly to electric sockets or re,- cept-acles embodying electric switch mechanism operable by a chain or cord.

On of the objects of the invention is to provide a two-part casing for the socket and its switch mechanism, in which the cap or base part of the casing carries the binding screwsfor the currentsupply wires. and

is secured to the body of the casing by a screw which carries current and has ahead forming I the center lamp, contact of the socket. T y

Another object of the invention is to provide means on a part of the switch mechanism for cooperating with a threaded portion of said securing screw to retain'the screw in connected relation with the body of the casing when the cap has been'det'ached from the body.

Another object of the. invention is to provide an improved arrangement of elements in a double make-and-break switch mechanism for pull sockets.

The above and other objects and the novel features of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a view of a socket and switch mechanism embodying the invention, the socket casing and shell being shown in section and the switch mechanism and associated parts appearing in side elevation;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional .view of ,the socket and switch mechanism. showing the relative arrangement of the parts as connected together;

Figure 3 is a dropped perspective view of the parts of the socket and switch;

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the socket;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the cap or base of the casing, part being broken away;

F igures 6, 7. 8 and 9 are bottom plan vlews of parts of the switch mechanism; and

Figure 10 is a transverse sectional view of the switch member and associated parts, taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Referring to the drawing, C and B, respectively, designate the cap or base and the body or shell of the two-part socket casing, composed of insulating material, such as porcelain. It willbe understood that ce tain features of this invention are not at ali limited to the shape or vconstruction of the casing and that the latter may be considerably modified to adapt the invention to different types of electric appliances.

The cap C has two-terminal plates 11 and 12 secured to the under face thereof by screws 13 and 14. respectively, and binding screws 15 and 16 are provided on said plates for securing thereto the current supply wires that extend into the cap through the opening 17 and passage 18. The terminal plate, 11 has a screw-threaded aperture or recess 19 therein disposed oppositea recess 20 in the cap, for a purpose to be described. The cylindrical socket shell or body B has an integral wall or partition P therein in- 8O tel-mediate its ends dividing the interior of the body into a lamp receiving cavity M and a switch mechanism receiving cavity N. The cavity M contains the usual screw shell or side contact 21 which is fastened in place by screws 22 and a plate 23. Another securing screw 24, which passes through the pa 1'- tition 1, engages a washer or nut 25 that rests on and secures the foot of an inclined spring switch contact 26 to the upper side of the partition. Integral insulating inclines 27 and 28 are provided on the upper side of the partition as rests for the switch member when the circuit is broken.

The partition P has a central aperture therethrough of two different diameters 29 and 30 to receive the screw 1V and the lower end of the spring-adjusting sleeve E. The screw W has a head 31 that constitutes a part of the center lamp contact of the socket. The screw W also secures a. lamp contacting element 32, having spring fingers 33, to the lower face of the partition P. The upper end of the screw W is threaded as at 34 to engage in the threaded aperture 19 of 105 the. terminal plate 11 whereby the cap and body of the casing are secured together and, since the screw is of conducting material, current will also be supplied therethrough to the center lamp contact. -The screw W passes centrally through the sleeve E, which latter is provided with an interior screwthreaded portion near its lower end which will prevent the accidental removal and possible loss ot t hc. screw W when the. screw is disengaged from. the member 11 to detach the cap from the body. The pitches of the threads 34 and 35 are the same so that the screw ll may readily be removed by further unscrewing movement of the screw.

The upper end of the sleeve E has a square head 36 that is held in a seat 37 adjacent to the aperture 38 in the insulating block L. The block L is secured to the inturned upper end of a current-conducting post 39 by a screw 40 that also secures a spring contact 41 in position on the upper side of the insulating block. The contact 41 is adapted to engage the contact plate 12 and elect-rically connect the latter and saidpost 2-39 when the cap C is secured to the body B. The current supply wires are, therefore. not

bound to any part carried by the body.

The post 39 and the block L carried by it are secured in position by a screw 42- that passes through the partition P and into a seat 43 into which the lower inturned end of the. post projects. The foot of an inclined spring switch contact 44.. disposed opposite the contact 26 also rests in said recess 43 in contact with the post 39 and is also held in place by said screw 42.

be switch member S for alternately electrically connecting and disconnecting said switch contacts 26 and 44 is best shown in Figs, 3. 9 and 10 and consists of an annular conducting plate 45 having oppositely disposed spring fingers 46 and 47 integral therewith. The plate 45 is secured between two insulating disks 48 and 49. the latter being provided with slots 50 through which the fingers 46, 47' extend. The upper disk 48 has athicker annular portion or boss 51 fitting within the annular plate 45 to effectively insulate said switch plate from the ferrule integral with the toothed ratchet disk secured to the upper side of'the in sulating disk 48. The ratchet disk 53 also has integral tangs 5s passing through the registering central openings in the. insulating disks and clinched against, the under side of the disk 49 to secure all the parts of the switch member together.

The operating device for the switch member may be of any suitable type and. as best shown in Figures 3 and 8 in the present construction an insulating plate 55 is provided which serves as a lever for a. ratchet disk 56 that is secured thereto by tangs 57. The disk 56 is thus insulated from the chain rail 58 to which the operating chain or cord 59 is secured. The chain 59 passes through a guid funnel 60 secured in an opening 61 in the insulating body B. The disk 56 is provided with integral teeth 62 adapted to engage in notches 63 in the disk 53, whereby when the disk 56 is turned the switch memher will be rotated. Each complete operation of the pull chain rotates the switch member only a. quarter of a revolution and after such complete"operation the lever 55 and the parts connected to it are returned to their initial position by a helical retracting spring 64 which surrounds the sleeve E and has one end 65 thereof engaging a lug 66 on the disk 56. The other end 67 of the spring fits into an aperture in the head 36 of the sleeve, said head being provided with a slot to receive the end of a screw driver inserted through the aperture 38, whereby the tension of the spring may be adjusted by depressing the sleeve and rotating it, as is well known. The switch member and its operating mechanism are pivoted on the sleeve E and are held in operative relation by the spring 64. the switch member being also forced into good electrical contact with the switch contacts by said spring. The entire switch mechanism is thus confined in the cavityN between the block L and the partition P and, when the cap C is removed for wiring the socket. the said switch mechanism will be. retained in position in the body of the socket casing.

The operation of the switch will be ap parent from the foregoing description. Inasmuch as changes may be made in various features described without departing from the spirit of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details disclosed.

What I claim is:

1. In a lamp socket or receptacle. the combination with a socket body and a removable cap therefor, of a terminal member secured to said cap and having a screw-threaded recess therein. a current-conducting screw having athreaded end arranged to engage in said recess to secure the body to said cap and having a head comprising the center lamp contact of the socket, switch mechanism in said body comprising a spring adjusting member, and cooperating means on said adjusting member and screw for retaining said screw in connected relation with said body after the screw has been disengaged from said recess.

2. In a lamp socket or receptacle, the combination with a socket body and a removable cap therefor, of a terminal member secured to said cap and having a screwthreaded recess therein, a current-conduct ing screw having a threaded end arranged to engage in said recess to secure the body to said cap and having a head comprising the center lamp contact of the socket, and switch mechanism in said body comprising an internally-threaded sleeve on said body and surrounding said screw. the threaded portion of said sleeve being adapted in cooperation with the threads of the screw to retain said screw in connected relation with aces-coo said sleeve and body after been disengaged from the terminal member,

3.111 a lamp socket. or receptacle, the combination with a casing comprising a body and a removable cap therefor, of terminal members secured to said cap, one-of said members having threaded recess, an insulating block in said body, a currentcarrying member secured to said block and to said body and engageable by a part of the other terminal member when the cap is secured to said body, and a current-carrying screw for securing the cap to the body comprising a threaded portion adapted to engage in said threaded recess and also having a head comprising the center lamp contact of the socket.

4. In a lamp socket or receptacle, the combination with a casing comprising a body and a cap removable therefor, of terminal members secured to said cap, one of said members having a threaded recess, an insulating block having an aperture, a current-carryingpost secured to said block and to said body, contacts secured to the post, one of said contacts being engageable by a part of the other terminal member when the cap is secured to said body, and a screw for securing the cap to the body having a threaded portion adapted to engage in said threaded recess and a head engaging said body. 4

5. In a lamp socket or receptacle, the com bination with a casing comprising a body and a removable cap therefor, of an insulating block having an aperture, a currentcarrying post secured to said block and to said body, a switch contact secured to the post, another switch contact secured to the body, a sleeve between said block and the body of the casing, switch mechanism the screw has recess in said mounted on said sleeve and comprising a switch member insulated from the sleeve and adapted to electrically connect said switch contacts, and a member passing through said sleeve and the aperture in said block for connecting said body to said cap or base.

6. In an electric socket, the combination with a casing of insulatingmaterial comprising body and a removable cap therefor, said body having a partition intermediate its ends and an aperture in said partition, terminal members secured to said cap, one of said members having a threaded recess, an insulating block having an aperture and a seat adjacent said aperture, a current-carrying post secured to said block and to said partition whereby the block'is spaced from one side of the partition, a contact on the -i1pper side of the block electrically connected to said post and engageable by the other of said terminal members when the body and cap are secured together, a switch contact secured to the lower end of the post, another switch contact secured to said partition, switch mechanism in the space between said block and said partition comprising a sleeve having a head adapted to engage in said seat, a switch member rotatable on said sleeve, insulated therefrom and adapted to electrically connect said switch contacts, means for operating said switch member, and a current conducting screw passing through the apertures in said partitionand block and through said sleeve and having a, screw-threaded end adapted to engage in said threaded recess and also having a head comprising the center lamp contact of the socket.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HARRY J. MOREY.. 

